Saturday, 28 March 2015

Materials:
1. Whole wood apple fruit (also known as cannon ball fruit, bel in hindi).
2. A good, sharp file.
3. Paint (Fabric or poster colors) and size 0 / 1 paint brushes.
4. Cardboard.
5. Black chart paper or plain white paper.
6. Glue.
7. Little paper flowers, buttons or any accessory suitable as a decorating item.Method:
1. Crack open the wood apple fruit into two halves.
2. Scrape out the pulp (you can eat the pulp or use it as a household cleaner).
3. Because the rind never breaks evenly, you will need to file it a little until a perfect circle is achieved.
4. Wash the rind halves and let them sun-dry.
5. Meanwhile, cut the cardboard into square / rectangular pieces large enough to hold the rind halves.
6. Wrap the pieces in black chart paper. Alternatively, you can also use white paper and paint it in black.
7. Take the sun-dried rinds and paint them in different patterns of your choice. Don't forget to paint the inner surface of the rinds. Let the paint dry completely.
8. Take each rind and stick it to the cardboard wrapped in black / painted paper.
9. Decorate as shown in the picture.

Presto! Your candle stand is ready! Use it or give it to someone you love, as a gift. :)

There's this little town in the temple city of Odisha, hugely famous for its applique work. Beautiful lampshades, colorful hand bags, bright wall hangings, letter holders, little purses, cushion covers, bed sheets, umbrellas, you name it and you have it! The market place itself is a distinct heaven of colors. Have you noticed the photographs below??

The market place of Pipili

The shops at Pipili

Applique work of Pipili is actually patching cloth design in other words. The locals have named the art form as 'Chandua'. So, what they generally do is cut pieces of colored cloths into various beautiful shapes and apply these onto another cloth called the master fabric.

Wall decors inside a shop

The themes have usually originated from the temple city. So, you'll notice a lot of items with the art work depicting Lord Jagannath, specially the wall hangings. No ritual inside the temples in Odisha is completed without a Pipili Chandua. Even the great Chariot festival of Odisha known as the Rath Yatra demands canopies and umbrellas from Pipili. This famous place has also etched its name in the Limca Book of Records to have manufactured the 'Longest Thematic Applique Work' of 54 meters in the year 2004.

Colorful lamp shades

The most spectacular of all the art work in Pipili are the lamp shades. Complement these with a bulb and the decor's even more beautiful. You can also go for the multicolored umbrellas designed with Pipili art work. And then you have bedsheets, handbags and carpets too!

Don't hesitate to spend your money on one of these. In fact you can buy as many as you want! The price is going to be easy on the pocketbook. I mean it's flatteringly cheap. :) Buy anything here and that too without burning a hole in your pocket!!

And yes, when you actually happen to visit this place, do give a sure shot look inside the shop and the workshop as well. The workers toil day and night to create the beauty that you see outside. Respect for such hard-working beings!

Workers in action at a shop

Devi Applique Workshop is one particular shop here that I love. Not that the other shops aren't that good. In fact, some other shops are even better. But, the shopkeeper here, Mr. Dilip Bera, is one interesting guy. He'll never let you go empty handed. Now don't feel conned! He's a good salesman! And what's more! He even offers free gifts sometimes. ;)

Mr. Dilip Bera, the ever-smiling shopkeeper

A beautiful piece of Pipili art work

So, don't miss Pipili if you happen to visit Odisha this time. It is one of the most famous amongst all Odisha tourist places Do shop a lot there! I'll go, check my new Pipili buys! You know, I cant resist myself from checking the stuff again and again. Tempting, these are! :) I'm seriously Pipili-fied now! Tada!